National Security

By now all Americans should know what the DNC stands for: The abortion of America.

The mystery diseases coming across our border. Just more terror brought on by the DNC.

Now to the CDC and the Coronavirus. Another gift from our great partner RED China which has a great track record on Quality Assurance just like Obama and Hillary Clinton: Agent Terry, SEAL TEAM VI, Benghazi, the Casandra Project, and so much more.

U.S. health officials urge Americans to prepare for spread of coronavirus

By: Julie Steenhuysen, Diane Bartz

February 25, 2020

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday alerted Americans to begin preparing for the spread of coronavirus in the United States after infections surfaced in several more countries.

The announcement signaled a change in tone for the Atlanta-based U.S. health agency, which had largely been focused on efforts to stop the virus from entering the country and quarantining individuals traveling from China.

“The data over the past week about the spread in other countries has raised our level of concern and expectation that we are going to have community spread here,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the CDC’s head of respiratory diseases, told reporters on a conference call.

What is not known, she said, is when it will arrive and how severe a U.S. outbreak might be. “Disruption to everyday life might be severe” and businesses, schools and families should begin having discussions about the possible impact from the spread of the virus, Messonnier cautioned.

In a teleconference later on Tuesday, Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, said that while the immediate risk in the United States was low, the current global situation suggested a pandemic was likely.

“It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when and how many people will be infected,” Schuchat said.

In San Francisco, California’s fourth-largest city, officials declared a local emergency, despite having no coronavirus cases, in an effort to raise public awareness of the virus’ risks and boost preparedness.

Separately, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told a Senate subcommittee there will likely be more cases in the United States, and he asked lawmakers to approve $2.5 billion in funding to fight the outbreak after proposing cuts to the department’s budget.

“While the immediate risk to individual members of the American public remains low, there is now community transmission in a number of countries, including outside of Asia, which is deeply concerning,” Azar said, adding that recent outbreaks in Iran and Italy were particularly worrying.

Believed to have originated from illegal wildlife sold in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, the new coronavirus has infected some 80,000 people and killed close to 2,700 in China.

Although the World Health Organization says the epidemic has peaked in China, coronavirus cases have surfaced in about 30 other countries, with some three dozen deaths reported, according to a Reuters tally.

Growing outbreaks in Iran, Italy and South Korea have raised concerns that coronavirus will surface in other nations and worsen in those that have already reported infections, further denting a global economy that had already been hit by a dependence on China.

Global and U.S. stock markets fell sharply again on Tuesday, as investors feared the epidemic would further damage an already slowing world economy.

The White House’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the U.S. economy would be able to ride out any disruption from the global spread of coronavirus, adding that he did not expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to blunt the disease’s economic impact.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, however, said Republican President Donald Trump and his administration had been caught “flat-footed” and lacked a comprehensive plan to deal with the coronavirus. He called for at least $3.1 billion in additional funding to fight it.

“The Trump administration has shown towering and dangerous incompetence when it comes to the coronavirus,” said Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat. “Mr. President, you need to get your act together now. This is a crisis.”

Trump defended his administration’s response. “CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world,” Trump said on Twitter.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it would be at least a year before a coronavirus vaccine could be made available to the public.

But Fauci said testing Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir for potential treatment of coronavirus could be done in a “reasonable amount of time.”

‘DEADLY CONSEQUENCES’

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that Iran may have covered up information about the spread of coronavirus there, and he accused China of mishandling the epidemic through its “censorship” of media and medical professionals.

“The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country,” Pompeo told reporters as Iran’s coronavirus death toll rose to 16.

“All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations,” Pompeo said.

His remarks, coming less than two months after a short-lived U.S.-Iranian military clash and the signing of a U.S.-China trade deal, could inflame tensions with Tehran and Beijing.

Beijing last week revoked the credentials of three Wall Street Journal correspondents over a column China said was racist. The United States has said it was considering a range of responses to their expulsion.

“Expelling our journalists exposes once again the government’s issue that led to SARS and now the coronavirus: namely censorship. It can have deadly consequences,” Pompeo said, referring to the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which also emerged from China.

“If China permitted its own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge” of coronavirus, he added.

Despite the coronavirus epidemic, Pompeo said the United States still planned to host a special meeting with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Las Vegas in March.

The Wayne Simmons Story:

“The Truth Behind the Conspiracy to Destroy an American Patriot”

On April 9, 2014, at 0745, Wayne Simmons had his life changed forever. That morning he received a visit from Kendra McLamb and Joanne Altenberg, two incompetent Special Agents of the FBI. They came under the false pretense of investigating a financial crime, a crime which never existed.

Even though an Inspector General Action Request (IGAR) would be officially filed against those two agents, this was the genesis of the premeditated attack against Simmons by the Department of Justice. It was carried out by the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), under the direction of U.S. Attorney Dana Boente and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Nathanson. Boente answered directly to Attorney General Eric Holder and later AG Loretta Lynch. This cabal had one primary goal and that was to destroy Simmons at all costs in order to protect presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. They were tasked to end Simmons’ appearances on Fox News by stripping him of any credibility.

For over a decade on Fox he had unleashed relentless attacks on the Left, the Obama Administration, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He criticized her for her role in the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack. Simmons had become one of the outspoken members of the Citizens Commission on Benghazi. A group of military and intelligence professionals who vociferously questioned the Obama Administrations lies about Benghazi.

This illegal attack on Simmons would begin one of the most egregious actions against an American undercover agent in national history. Evidence from a plethora of legal documents filed on PACER and from Open Source intelligence, prove that the FBI acted illegally during the arrest process. Over fifteen heavily armed FBI SWAT team agents raided Simmons’ Annapolis, MD home on October 15, 2015 at 0630 in the morning. The raid occurred even though Simmons and his attorneys were in direct discussions with the FBI for eighteen months.

The FBI not only failed to read Simmons his Miranda rights; they also illegally searched his residence without a warrant. Contrary to federal law Simmons was transported across state and federal district lines without granting him an appearance before a federal magistrate.

Simmons was eventually charged with fraud against the United States, wire fraud and felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison after following the ill-advised recommendation of his third court appointed attorney, William Cummings.

During a recorded conversation, Cummings admits that Simmons was innocent. Cummings further states that if Simmons would plead guilty to specific crimes for which he was charged, he would serve no time in prison. If Simmons pled not guilty, he faced 20-40 years in federal prison. He grudgingly accepted the plea and pled guilty to crimes that his attorney knew he did not commit. Simmons was astonished when he was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

The EDVA’s principal claim that Simmons was not a CIA contractor imploded in the summer of 2016 after Simmons provided the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence(HPSCI), chaired at the time by U.S. Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA), with detailed records of his operations files. Many of the files were over 40 years old. Those files listed Simmons’ training facilities along with their locations, his jump logs, flight-hour logs and his paymaster checks that detailed how Simmons was paid. They also provided the addresses, directions, and photographs of the stash-and-safe houses used by Simmons and other intelligence personnel. Yet the FBI and DOJ were not interested in any documentation that would prove Simmons’ bona fides or innocence.

However, the DOJ, CNN, Washington Post, and NY Times eagerly interviewed and believed as credible a disgruntled former CIA employee named Kent Clizbe. Two other former CIA employees, Gary Berntsen, a career CIA officer who served in the Directorate of Operations, and James Senner, a retired Senior Intelligence Officer (SIS 3), conspired with Clizbe to attack Simmons.

Berntsen and Senner were clearly aware that is impossible to confirm participation by anyone in a Deep Black CAP (Controlled Access Program). It is equally incomprehensible that intelligence officers at this level would not have been aware of the danger they would place Simmons in by claiming he was not a contractor. Even current and former Directors of CIA are precluded from access to most of the many hundreds of CAPs formed and operated for over 70 years by the CIA. In most cases, no documentation exists.

The Obama Administration’s Department of Justice had already indicted Simmons’ good friend and partner, American arms dealer Marc Turi. He was falsely charged with providing the illegal arms shipments used in the Benghazi terrorist attack of September 11, 2012. Simmons’ relationship with Turi afforded him access to documents and unclassified operational intelligence that he used during his many years on Fox News and in other media.

This enabled Simmons to put the blame of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, squarely on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Four Americans died in the 2012 Benghazi attack including Ambassador Chris Stevens and Information Officer Sean Smith. Two CIA operatives were also killed, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. Both were former Navy SEALs.

Marc Turi, also provided an affidavit to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, stating that, “in the furtherance of U.S. foreign interests, Simmons was engaged in the covert procurement of equipment for an unnamed country.” The government and Judge T.S. Ellis ignored Turi’s affidavit and his offer to provide the weapons shipment orders secured by Simmons and Turi for the CIA.

Simmons is a man who has given three decades of his life protecting Americans and American national security interests. According to records and Operations files presented to HPSCI, Simmons performed some of the most dangerous, rigorous, and physically and mentally demanding tasks required of intelligence personnel.

His undercover efforts helped to combat the narcotics and weapons trade overwhelming the U.S. between 1979 and 1984. Simmons suffered physical and mental torture so great that he was placed on two separate TLA’s (temporary leaves of absence) from 1977-1979 and from 1984-1988. Records filed with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation indicate that Simmons operated at least ten front companies during his decades of undercover work. After his four-year TLA in the mid and late 1980’s Simmons returned to active intelligence operations. He spent the rest of his career as a contractor working undercover in venues such as Hong Kong, Macau, Kazakhstan, and Western Europe.

In Simmons’ case, even though the DOJ and FBI tried to use his past criminal arrests that occurred during his undercover operations to convict him in the eyes of the court and in the media, it was obvious to investigators from the MPM Group, Inc. and to Karl Milligan, President of Patriot Security Group, two of the top investigating agencies in the country, that over the decades very powerful forces continuously protected Simmons.

He was never incarcerated even though, while working undercover, he had multiple serious arrests, including a gun battle in 1981 where he was initially charged with assault with intent to murder. Another arrest occurred in 1984 during a massive arms for drugs operation Simmons set up in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Those arrests and multiple other arrests that occurred while working undercover were stricken from Simmons’ record. The files were stored in a secure facility located outside of Baltimore, MD.

Since their objective was to destroy Simmons by claiming he was not a CIA contractor, the FBI and DOJ illegally and unethically accessed those records, then released them to the corrupt media and the public. According to government representations to the court, the crux of the case against Simmons involved his CIA contractor employment history claims dating back to the early 1970’s. Due to the nature of a majority of that employment in Deep Black CAPs, our nation’s most sensitive intelligence programs, written verification was extremely limited if not non-existent.

Simmons provided the government with no less than twelve attorneys, high-ranking U.S. government officials, flag officers from the military, and other credible witnesses who could have appeared before the sentencing court and proven that such unorthodox covert operations existed within the U.S. intelligence community.

A former Department of Justice attorney with the above Top Secret clearance level of Cosmic and Q, and one of the few men ever allowed by the CIA to audit CIA Black programs, provided an affidavit stating that he was aware of the CAP Simmons had participated in. He further stated that he was confident that Simmons was part of that black, wet program because of Simmons’ “intimate and detailed knowledge” of that specific above Top Secret, Controlled Access Program.

None of Simmons’ potential witnesses who could corroborate his background were ever interviewed by the government or by Simmons’ incompetent defense counsel, William Cummings. Cummings was a former U.S. Attorney for EDVA (1977-81). He was appointed to represent Simmons by his friend, U.S. District, Judge T.S. Ellis. Ellis is also the Judge appointed to the trials of Trump associates Paul Manafort, Lt. General Michael Flynn, and George Papadopoulos. Simmons never retracted his employment claims during his sentencing allocution and his refusal to do so was never questioned by AUSA Paul Nathanson or Judge T.S. Ellis when they accepted his plea. Without reason the fake news media failed to report that on the morning Simmons was sentenced by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, the principal charge against Simmons of falsifying his CIA contractor bona fides was dismissed by the government. Simmons was then coerced by his attorney to plead guilty to a new, false claim by the government of being a “Felon in possession of a firearm”.

Incredibly, that charge surfaced on the morning Simmons was to be sentenced. Even though Simmons was not a felon, and Judge Ellis accepted his claim of no felony convictions, Ellis still allowed the new charge to become part of the record. It became immediately clear that Judge T.S. Ellis and his friend, William Cummings, along with U.S. Attorney Dana Boente and AUSA Paul Nathanson, were serving the agenda of the Clinton political machine. Simmons’ media attacks on the Clintons were well known. He had to be silenced.

During an extensive investigation into the unprecedented attack on Wayne Simmons for crimes he did not commit, and after reviewing the legal documents on PACER that were filed in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th District, Richmond, VA, as well as from Open Source intelligence, the following points were discovered and should alarm every American:

After Simmons’ initial pre-indictment representation by Joseph Schmitz, a former Department of Defense Inspector General, and a Senior Trump Campaign advisor, Simmons retained the Law Firm of Perkins-Coie for $100,000. Perkins-Coie also represented American arms dealer, Marc Turi, who was falsely accused of providing the weapons used in the Benghazi terrorist attack of September 11, 2012. By representing both Simmons and Turi, Perkins-Coie controlled the legal fates of Hillary Clinton’s principal accusers and the entire narrative of the Benghazi terrorist attack.

Unbeknown to both Simmons and Schmitz, Perkins-Coie unethically and possibly illegally, simultaneously represented Hillary Clinton, the DNC, Fusion GPS, and British Mi6 Agent Christopher Steele. Perkins-Coie also served as the “cut out” for the purchase of the Steele Dossier, which was fraudulently used by the FBI, CIA and DOJ to secure FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978) warrants in their efforts to complete a coup against the newly elected President, Donald J. Trump.

One month before the 2016 presidential election, and immediately after Simmons reported to federal prison in Schuykill, Pennsylvania, all charges against Marc Turi were “Dropped with Prejudice.” Hillary Clinton and her associates clearly believed she would be the next President of the United States. Thus, no outstanding legal actions involving Hillary Clinton and Benghazi could be left open or unfinished.

While Simmons was being held without bail after his arrest on October 15, 2015, his attorney, J. Cabou, of Perkins-Coie, severed ties with Simmons by demanding that a $500,000 cash payment be made immediately to the firm. Cabou knew that Simmons could not make that payment after already paying $150,000 in pre- indictment legal costs. Simmons was then left with no representation and was forced to accept two completely unqualified public defenders.

After filing two different motions for the removal of the public defenders, Simmons was finally granted a hearing before Judge T.S. Ellis. Ellis immediately denied Simmons’ choice of representation, that of renowned criminal defense attorney Raymond Mansilillo, of Boston, MA. Mansolillo has considerable national security trial experience as well as a Classified Information Procedure Act (CIPA) clearance. Mansolillo also agreed to accept the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) fee.

Simmons was forced by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis into representation by Ellis’ friend and former U.S. Attorney for EDVA, William Cummings, even though Cummings had virtually no CIPA experience.

Collusion between Simmons’ attorney, William Cummings and the U.S. Attorney’s office became even more evident after emails surfaced showing that the names and locations of key defense witnesses for Simmons were surreptitiously provided to Assistant U.S. Attorney, Paul Nathanson, by Cummings.

These defense witnesses, all former or current intelligence officers familiar with Simmons, were then confronted by the U.S. Attorney’s office regarding their testimony. After that, locating those witnesses then became impossible. One witness known only as “DP”, was eventually located in Afghanistan after his unceremonious transfer.

Marc Turi, also provided an affidavit to U.S. District Judge, T.S. Ellis, stating that, “in the furtherance of U.S. foreign interests, Simmons was engaged in the covert procurement of equipment for an unnamed country.”

In the summer of 2016, Simmons received a tape recording from anonymous sources sympathetic to his plight. That conversation was between Simmons and his attorney, William Cummings. During the 10+ minute taped conversation Cummings would blame the adversities Simmons faced in court, including his failed plea deal and the prison time given to Simmons, on AUSA Paul Nathanson calling him, “duplicitous and difficult.” He would also charge that Judge Ellis was not “forthright” and did not honor Simmons’ plea deal because it was “not in writing.”

In 2017, while serving his 33-month sentence in federal prison, Simmons received an anonymous certified letter from a whistleblower who was disgusted with the collusion and corruption taking place inside the EDVA. The letter contained copies of altered legal documents proving the collusion between Simmons’ attorney, William Cummings and the U.S. Attorney’s office. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis refused to grant Simmons a hearing where he could present the forged documents and the audio tape to the court.

Simmons has been out of federal prison for fifteen months and has rapidly rebuilt his life. As an adjunct to his patent issued by USPTO for “Point of Sale Credit Card Security”, also known as HADRIAN, he filed three more patent applications while serving twenty five of his thirty-three-month prison sentence. Simmons has succeeded in designing the first impregnable, cyber security system. His patent applications were immediately flagged by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), who wrote that the applications could not be published as it “would be detrimental to national security.” The applications are now being permanently filed under national security protection.

In true irony, the same agencies that labeled Simmons as “Undeclared”, are now scrambling to have Simmons and his team of communications professionals brief them on his technology. That technology, which utilizes proprietary, multilayered communications protocols and techniques, will, according to the professionals who have reviewed and understand it, make internet communications, cell phone, and data communications impregnable.

Those who know Simmons have been unwavering in their support. That support quietly reaches all the way into the very highest levels of the U.S. government, the military, the intelligence community, and private industry.

Most if not all view what has happened in the court room of U.S. District Judge, T.S. Ellis, to Wayne Simmons, Lt. General Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and George Papadopoulos as a frightening snapshot of the kind of corruption and malfeasance that may befall the American people if President Trump is not able to continue to put a stop to the excesses by federal agencies that have been compromised by political venality.

The recent revelations of collusion and corruption by the Comey led FBI, the Loretta Lynch- Eric Holder DOJ, John Brennan’s CIA and James Clapper’s, DNI, combined with the endless list of compromised Democrat politicians, have finally allowed the American people an opportunity to look deep into the dark abyss of unbridled unelected power inside the American government.

Those individuals mentioned above and other high-ranking corrupt officials in the FBI, CIA and DOJ, like Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and Andrew McCabe, have been relentlessly pursued by Attorney General William Barr. Media personalities Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, John Solomon, Sarah Carter and Mark Levin have pilloried them. So have Congressmen Devin Nunes (R-CA), Mark Meadows (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and many others. America owes them all a great and profound debt.

Simmons is adamant in his love of God, his family, his friends, and for America. He is very contemplative in his comments about those who attempted to destroy and discredit him. Simmons’ calm focus does not betray his anger for those who robbed him of one of the most vital things any person has in life, their reputation.

He is most proud of the faith, strength and courage that his children have always shown especially during the personal attacks levied on him by the corrupt news media and while he spent 25 months in federal prison.

When asked if he is a hero, Simmons’ eyes smolder with an intense stare. He modestly answers, “of course not” and then gently says that, “America has many heroes, in all walks of life. That’s what makes the United States the greatest country in the world.”

Simmons also states he is convinced that President Trump is leading America with divine inspiration and that he will win reelection this fall.

When asked if he would ever serve his country again Simmons replies, “I’ve never stopped.” The question remains, will the country he served so valiantly give him what all Americans deserve: justice?

We would like to recognize the dedicated support of Admiral Ace Lyons (since deceased) who remained steadfast in his efforts to bring justice to Wayne Simmons.

A miscarriage of justice

The system fails an American agent

By James A. Lyons – – Monday, September 5, 2016

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

On Oct. 15, 2015, FBI agents placed Wayne Simmons under arrest for fraud against the government which involved falsifying government job application forms and wire fraud involving the interstate transfer of funds. Subsequently, on July 15, 2016, Judge T.S Ellis in the Federal Eastern District Court of Virginia, found Mr. Wayne Simmons guilty of making false statements on a government job application Form SF86 dated April 7, 2010 — that’s over six years ago. The judge accepted a plea bargain from Mr. Simmons in which he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and government fraud, but which allowed him to keep his CIA contractor bona fides. The judge sentenced Mr. Simmons to 33 months in prison after complaining that he did not see any “Operations Files.”

Unfortunately, the judge was denied relevant information which would have shown that Mr. Simmons was filling out the SF86 form according to instructions he received from his defense security service administrator. Further, as a result of leaked intelligence from “Operations Files,” identical to those submitted earlier this year to a U.S. Congressional Intelligence Committee by Mr. Simmons, he continues to provide past intelligence data and operations files as proof of his innocence.

Separately, Mr. Simmons and his attorney, Jean-Jacques “J” Cabou, had contacted and begun discussions with a Congressional Intelligence Committee almost a year prior to his arrest. However, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the FBI and the CIA were unaware of these discussions. A thorough, professional and detailed review of these never-before-seen “Operations Files” proves to us, among other things, that Simmons spent 27 years as a covert intelligence operator and was part of a highly specialized undercover team that performed domestic black operations. Mr. Simmons service files contain the names, dates and places, detailing his world-wide travels and his covert operations.

Our review of Mr. Simmons‘ files, many of which are over 40 years old, further show his training facilities along with their locations, his jump logs, flight-hour logs and paymaster checks that detail how Mr. Simmons was paid. They also provide detailed directions and photographs of the stash- and safe-houses used by Mr. Simmons, and other intelligence agencies. The question that has to be asked is, “Why after all these years, would the DOJ and the FBI spend over one million dollars and over two years of effort to conduct what is clearly a witch hunt and go to such lengths to destroy an American undercover agent?”

One reason may be the fact that prior to his arrest, Mr. Simmons served as an unpaid terrorist analyst for FOX News for over 12 years. The personal destruction of Mr. Simmons by the DOJ and the FBI should alarm all Americans. He has become a prime target for many on the left since he was an outspoken member of the Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi (CCB), an organization that, along with Judicial Watch (JW), filed a plethora of FOIAs and pressured members of Congress like Rep. Trey Gowdy, the Chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, to conduct a comprehensive investigation on this tragedy. Mr. Simmons was critical of the Obama administration, particularly Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for her mishandling of the Benghazi attack.

Clearly, Judge Ellis needs to be provided with the relevant information that has been denied to him, including the “Operations Files” in the possession of the Congressional Intelligence Committee. With this new information, a miscarriage of justice can be prevented, and Wayne Simmons, a true American, can rebuild his life and continue to serve his country.

• James A. Lyons, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, was commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations. Contributing: Tom McInerney, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general, served in top military positions and reported directly to the secretary of Defense and to the vice president of the United States. Paul E. Vallely, a retired U.S. Army major general, is chairman of Stand Up America and of the Legacy National Security Advisory Group.

Editor’s Note: A repost of an extremely important article by Admiral James “Ace” Lyons.

James A. Lyons, U.S. Navy retired Admiral, was commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations.

Travel Advisory:

The road to Benghazi = time and distance. En route. What to wear when visiting each city.

LYONS: Benghazi was a planned tragedy

The event was no surprise, and the massive cover-up appalls

By James A. Lyons – – Monday, March 3, 2014

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The recent reports by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Armed Services Committee make clear that no organization in the chain of command, including the White House, should have been surprised by the tragic events that occurred at our Benghazi Special Mission Compound (SMC) on Sept. 11, 2012.

Clearly, there was both strategic and tactical warnings.

The security situation in eastern Libya, particularly Benghazi, was out of control. Trying to explain our failure to protect the SMC as a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the deteriorating security situation or incompetence does not pass muster. This was a planned event and explains the massive cover-up.

There were numerous hostile acts leading up to the attack on the compound. For example, on April 6, 2012, an attack with improvised explosive devices was conducted on the outer wall of the compound.

On May 22, the Benghazi International Red Cross office was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades. On June 1, a car bomb exploded outside the Benghazi hotel where the British ambassador was staying. On June 6, an IED blew a hole in the compound’s perimeter wall. On June 7, Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens requested two mobile security teams for his protection but was denied by the State Department.

On June 11, the British ambassador’s convoy was hit by RPGs. On June 17, the U.K. closes its Benghazi consulate, and the International Red Cross closes its office. On June 19, the Tunisian Consulate is stormed by the rebel group Ansar al Shariah.

Then on July 9, the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli requests continued security support for an additional 60 days, but receives no answer from the State Department.

On Aug. 2, Stevens requests 11 additional personal-security bodyguards. He calls the security situation unpredictable and violent, but his requests are turned down by State. Stevens sent a cable to State on Aug, 16 stating that the compound cannot withstand a coordinated attack.

The State Department’s reaction was to withdraw the three Quick Reaction Units at our embassy in Tripoli under the command of Col. Andy Wood over the objection of the embassy and Col. Wood.

At this point, AFRICOM offers to provide additional security, but Stevens feels compelled to turn down the offer owing to State denying all his requests for increased security.

The State Department turning down all of Stevens‘ requests for increased security as well as drawing down security assets in country is more than puzzling, particularly since an internal State Department analysis completed two months after the compound opened stated that unless security was increased, the compound should be closed. This assessment is buried in the Accountability Review Board (ARB) report.

The question that needs to be answered is, with the out-of-control security situation in eastern Libya, why were there no contingency plans or forces pre-positioned ready to respond to potential attacks on the anniversary of 9/11?

According to one report, the administration was focused on Tunisia, not Libya. Mind-boggling. Nonetheless, if that were the case, where were the forces positioned to respond to an attack on Tunisia?

On the day of the attack, according to a report in The Guardian, the readiness of the ambassador’s five-member security detail raises questions. Three of the four agents with Stevens, according to the report, left their rifles, helmets and body armor in another area under orders by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, which was confirmed by the ARB report.

This makes no sense, given that standard operating procedures in a hostile environment require that weapon be kept at the ready all times. Another question that needs to be answered: Why would the secretary of state give such an order?

Based on numerous reports, the Obama administration and every organization in the chain of command knew almost instantly that this was a terrorist attack on the SMC.

Within hours, it was known that the attack was executed by Ansar al Shariah, which is a coalition of Islamic and Salafist rebel groups linked to al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and the February 17th Martyrs Brigade.

It should not be overlooked that the February 17th Martyrs Brigade was tasked with supporting the U.K.-based Blue Mountain Security Group that had the contract from our State Department to provide security for the compound.

According to my source, who is a confidential informant for the FBI, the Blue Mountain Security Group is a cover company for MI-6. My source also told me that the February 17 Martyrs Brigade contract personnel were positioned near the compound the day of the attack and were ready to respond but never received orders to execute. Interesting.

My FBI confidential informant has also confirmed my assessment on the Lou Dobbs TV show in October 2012; namely, that this was an operation that went terribly wrong.

According to my source’s in-country contacts, there never was any intention to kill Stevens. He was supposed to be kidnapped and held as a hostage in exchange for the release of the blind sheik, Omar Abdel Rahman. It should be recalled that this was the No. 1 objective of then-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in his Washington visit in 2012.

All the unanswered questions and the truth of what actually took place at our Benghazi compound that cost the lives of four Americans can only be resolved by the formation of a special committee with subpoena powers.

House Speaker John A. Boehner, appoint such a committee as called for by Resolution 36 put forth by Rep. Frank R. Wolf, Virginia Republican, and restore integrity to the office of the speaker.

James A. Lyons, U.S. Navy retired Admiral, was commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations.